from States Newsroom
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By Elisha Brown |
“The work ahead is to make sure that other aspects of reproductive healthcare can stay in place, that we can proactively protect IVF, contraception, and timely miscarriage care.”
— Dr. Caitlin Gustafson, president of the Idaho Coalition for Safe Healthcare
A “Stop Prop 1” sign leans up against the wall during an election night watch party on Nov. 3, 2026, in Boise, Idaho. Voters soundly defeated a measure that would have restored access to abortion in the state, a sharp contrast with outcomes in three other states that expanded or enshrined abortion rights. (Photo by Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)
Voters in all but one of the four states where abortion was on the ballot secured abortion rights.
In Idaho, nearly 56% of voters rejected a question that asked them whether they wanted to ensure the right to abortion up to fetal viability, fertility treatments and related reproductive healthcare.
Idaho Family Policy Center President Blaine Conzatti said in a statement that “abortion advocates fundamentally misunderstood Idaho.” Conzatti’s group campaigned against the measure.
Dr. Caitlin Gustafson, the president of the Idaho Coalition for Safe Healthcare, told Stateline’s Kelcie Moseley-Morris that the fight for reproductive rights in the state isn’t over.
“The work ahead is to make sure that other aspects of reproductive healthcare can stay in place, that we can proactively protect IVF, contraception, and timely miscarriage care,” Gustafson said.
In Missouri, roughly 56% of voters opposed a ballot measure that would have reinstated a near-total abortion ban with few exceptions and prohibited gender-affirming care for minors, the latter of which is already banned through a state law.
In Nevada, a majority of voters once again voted to secure the right to abortion up to fetal viability or later for medical emergencies. Voters initially endorsed the measure in 2024, but state law requires them to approve constitutional amendments twice.
And Virginia voters put the right to abortion, birth control, fertility care and a host of other reproductive rights in their state constitution. Around 62% of voters approved the amendment, which also allows abortion in the third trimester to save a Virginian's life or health.
THE POD
Next on our Stories From The States podcast: Democrats won big on Tuesday. What’s next for American democracy?
An enormous blue wave crashed over all levels of government this midterm cycle. Congressional seats, governor’s mansions and state legislatures flipped from Republican to Democrat, some in surprising fashion. Democrats claimed “trifecta” power in some state capitals, broke supermajorities in others and won other influential statewide offices.
In Episode 53, we’re reflecting on the state of American democracy, election integrity and what Tuesday’s results could mean for policymaking in reshaped statehouses.
States Newsroom democracy reporter Jonathan Shorman and Evening Wrap newsletter writer Danielle Gaines will chat about the major trends from this election, what surprised them and what could be next.
THE BEAT
After sex, many girls and young women try to avoid pregnancy with unproven methods
A teacher holds a student’s baby while his class completes coursework at a high school for young parents in Spokane, Wash. A new study finds that many girls and young women try to avoid pregnancy after sex with unproven methods. (Photo by Camilla Forte/The Hechinger Report)
By Sofia Resnick / Stateline
To prevent pregnancy after sex, U.S. teenage girls and young women are more likely to rely on unproven strategies such as prayer, exercise and jumping up and down than they are on evidence-based methods such as Plan B emergency contraception, according to a new study.
The study, published in The Journal of Sex Research, is based on a survey of 1,259 girls and women between the ages of 15-29. A quarter of the 633 respondents who reported having sexual intercourse and were not pregnant said they had used a post-coital method to prevent pregnancy.
Of those, about 9% said they’d used evidence-based emergency birth control such as Plan B or a copper intrauterine device.
But about 16% used methods without proven efficacy, including prayer (9.4%), douching (6%), jumping up and down or exercising (3.3%), ingesting something by mouth (1.9%), punching one’s stomach or uterus (1.4%), taking medicine or vitamins (0.9%), inserting something vaginally (0.5%), or using an enema (0.2%). About one-fifth of this group used more than one method — praying and douching being the most common combination.
These types of methods were more common among minors and non-white respondents.
“There is a need to better understand what is underlying these practices or the use of these strategies,” said Riley J. Steiner, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and one of the authors of the study.
The release of the study comes on the heels of the Trump administration cutting and reshaping programs such as Title X and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, created to lower the rate of unintended pregnancy and to inform people of safe and effective options for preventing pregnancy.
THE PULSE
ID: Idaho voters reject abortion-rights initiative | Idaho Capital Sun
MO: Missouri voters reject anti-abortion measure | Missouri Independent
NV: Nevada approves abortion-rights amendment | The Hill
VA: Virginians add reproductive rights to state constitution | Virginia Mercury
MD: Baltimore voters approve baby fund ballot measure | WYPR
ND: Voters reject higher bar to amend North Dakota’s constitution | North Dakota Monitor
ABORTION ACCESS IN THE U.S.
Track state-level developments on reproductive rights anytime at News From The States. Send tips and thoughts to ✉️ [email protected], and follow her on Bluesky @elishabrown.
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